Joan Liftin worked on a series of the traditional American experience—the drive-in movie theater—for over 20 years, and ultimately publishing them in a book titled Drive-Ins in 2004. Liftin’s photographs directly comment on and relate to a nostalgia for American car culture associated with the mostly suburban and rural America, which had its heyday during the 1950s and 60s.

Joan Liftin has a fruitful career as a photographer and photo editor. She directed the International Center of Photography’s Documentary and journalism education program for twelve years and was a staff photographer and photo editor for UNICEF.